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Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Lewis Aleman is the author of Cold Streak. He is also in the process of writing his second book, Faces In Time, which comes out early October 2009, so look out for that! Thank you for taking the time out to do this interview and I appreciate you giving away these great books!

1) When did you start writing? I was writing little stories with terrible illustrations on loose leaf and stapling them crookedly together when I was very young. I still have one of them from when I was seven years old. The desire to write stories that I cared about has always been there. I started trying to write novels somewhere in middle school, but I didn’t actually finish one until right after I graduated high school.

2) What inspired you to write Cold Streak?The murder rate in New Orleans is outrageous, and to make the situation worse, many obviously guilty murderers and rapists are acquitted here. The original idea for Cold Streak was based on how a young mother would feel and react to her family being murdered in a suburb outside of New Orleans.

3) Are the characters in the book based on someone you know? Yes and no. None of the characters in Cold Streak are based on people that I know, but some of the mannerisms are taken from acquaintances and friends. I might take a quirk or idiosyncrasy from a very nice, real person and use it on a vile, fictional character. So, certain traits come from real people, but none of the characters resemble anyone that I know. Actually, now that I think about it, the bartender was based on a bartender that I knew in New Orleans, although her backstory was completely made up, but she is a minor character.4) What was the hardest part of writing Cold Streak? Writing the darker scenes, especially the violent death scenes, was hard on me. I’m a pretty positive, optimistic person, so it was hard for me to dwell in that darkness to imagine how the characters would be feeling and what the environment would look like. But, it was all necessary because I felt describing revenge as a romantic concept without the ugliness of the blood and guts would have been irresponsible. The reality of vengeance might be justice in some circumstances, but it’s definitely never pretty.

5) What is the meaning behind the title choice of your book? The title Cold Streak had to do with the feelings that coursed through Laura following the murders of her husband and her two young daughters. The rage for vengeance consumed her, streaked through her, and changed her into something quite different from what she used to be.

6) The cover is very spooky, who came up with the cover design? The concept for the cover came from me. From the beginning, I knew I wanted it to focus on Laura in front of the church. My only regret about the cover is it didn’t allow Paul and Irene, the two detectives who play major roles in the story, to be shown alongside Laura. Covers are always hard to design. Some readers would rather not see the characters so they can visualize them to their own taste, and others like to see how the author envisioned them. Some people prefer vague, artsy, or symbolic covers, and others like realistic depictions of what is going on in the book. I guess the goal is to create a cover that captures the tone or emotion of the book.

7) Are there any new authors that have sparked your interest? My current to-read list is out of control. I’ve been so busy writing the new novel that I’ve amassed a large pile of books that I picked up because they seemed interesting. I’m sure somewhere in this stack there are some amazing new authors. Most recently I enjoyed James Rollins’s The Last Oracle, although he is a well-established writer.

8) What book are you currently reading? I’m currently reading Stel Pavlou’s Gene. Then, I’ll be reading The Knowing by Jennifer Daigle and The Sea’s Embrace by Angela Steed.

9) Do you have any other books that you are working on? I just finished a new time travel novel, Faces in Time, which will be out in early October. My next book is going to be the first in a fantasy series called A Brother, A Drunkard, and Something Odd. I actually have plans and plots laid out for my next nine books. They certainly might not be written in that order; sometimes new ideas do come along and demand to be written sooner.

10) Tell us something about yourself that no one knows about. - I play guitar in QUIVER, a New Orleans rock band. Music has been on hiatus while I’ve been writing full time, but I’m going to record a new album later this year. I doubt many people outside of New Orleans know that. My favorite color is purple, and I’m a huge fan of The Simpsons.

**CONTEST TIME**

Lewis is awesome and has mailed me four signed books of Cold Streak that come with a glimpse of the first chapter of Faces In Time and bookmarks.

CONTEST IS CLOSED.

Cold Streak by Lewis AlemanPublisher: Megalodon Entertainment LLCSummary: Her family is brutally murdered, and she finds herself on her knees praying for things she never could have imagined. Her dark journey of revenge takes off as she hunts her family's killers, while being chased down by a troubled detective, his lovelorn partner, and an inner voice that grants her no peace. Her quest lures her through an explosive music scene, down unlit alleyways, to the edge of a towering church rooftop, and into the nightmarish landscape of her own mind. Will she get her justice before time runs out? Will her own lust for vengeance consume all that is left of her in the process?

**THESE ARE THE RULES**+1 Answer this question: If someone close in your life was taken awayfrom you, would you seek revenge?+1 Become a follower+2 If you already are a follower+3 Announce the contest on your blog sidebar, twitter, myspace, facebook, etc - Any type of promoting is fine as long as you include the link, if you don't I won't add the entry.

-Please include all entries in one comment and please do not forget to put your e-mail address, so I can contact you if you're the winner.-Sorry, this contest is only open for the U.S.-Deadline: July 26, 2009-Have fun everyone!

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comments:

+1 Most likely, although I might be a bit lazy. Although, if it was specifically my mom, hello, andreline rush. And grandma, and uncle.+2 already stalking you+3 blog sidebar, you know how to get there.Oh, AWESOME giveaway, btw.lilibethramos@live.com

As for revenge, no questions asked...I would want revenge. It's just me and my daughter. If anyone hurt her, nothing could stop me from hunting them down. I think it's because she's all I have that makes revenge more likely.

So, I'm the author. I had to take a break from editing the new book, so I decided to stop by and check out people's answers to the giveaway question. You guys have posted some interesting responses. I'll have to talk to Eleni and see if we can add a few more books to the giveaway.

+1 If it was an unsolved crime I could only hope the perp was caught. Then if caught I'd see what "justice" chose to do and if I wasn't satisfied I might exact revenge but I do believe karma sometimes pays back these things rather quickly.

+1 Answer this question: If someone close in your life was taken awayfrom you, would you seek revenge? - Yes, but not by killing. I wouldn't stop until the killer is in prison for life, etc.+2 I'm already a follower.+3 I linked to the contest on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ParadoxRevealed/status/2847266979

+1 Answer this question: If someone close in your life was taken awayfrom you, would you seek revenge?

It depends on the situation. If someone intentionally hurt them then I would do all I could to get justice for them. I wouldnt go all vigilante though and kill someone, I would want them to suffer in prison.